Fluoride-containing glasses are well known to the art; fluoride-containing glasses wherein the fluoride ion can be leached out in an aqueous environment are likewise well known to the art. In general, however, these latter glasses have exhibited an irregular rate of fluoride release; that is, exposure to an aqueous environment resulted in a relatively large initial release of fluoride ion with little subsequent release after a short period of time. Furthermore, the conventional fluoride-containing glasses of commerce have been subjected to high volatilization losses of fluorine during melting. Such losses are not only wasteful from an economic point of view, but also are hazardous to the surrounding environment, requiring expensive equipment and processes to prevent air pollution and water contamination.
Therefore, the principal objective of the present invention was to prepare fluoride-containing glass compositions wherein the fluoride ion will be leached therefrom in a controlled, relatively constant rate over a substantial period of time upon exposure to an aqueous environment, but with essentially no development of porosity or other physical breakdown effect, and which can be melted and formed employing glassmaking practices conventional in the art with relatively low volatilization of fluorine.